Outlet assembly with completely enclosed sliding gate for railway car hopper



G. E. DATH OUTLET ASSEMBLY WITH COMPLETELY ENCLOSED SLIDING GATE FOR RAILWAY CAR HOPPER June 26, 1956 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Jan. 15, 1953 Gea/ye I flczzh, Y

G. E. DATH OUTLET ASSEMBLY WITH COMPLETELY ENCLOSED June 26. 1956 SLIDING GATE FOR RAILWAY CAR HOPPER 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Jan. 15, 1955 June 26. 1956 e. E. DATH OUTLET ASSEMBLY WITH COMPLETELY ENCLOSED SLIDING GATE FOR RAILWAY CAR HOPPER 3 SheetsSheet 3 Filed Jan. 15, 1953 INVENTOR. George E flzzf V if? .m

United States Patent OUTLET ASSEMBLY WITH COMPLETELY EN- CLOSED SLIDING GATE FOR RAILWAY CAR HOPPER George E. Dath, Mokena, Ill., assignor to Enterprise Railway Equipment Company, Chicago, 11]., a corporation of Illinois ApplicationJanuary 15, 1953, Serial No. 331,352

4 Claims. (Cl. 105282) This invention relates, generally, to railway car hopper outlet assemblies and it has particular relation to enclosing the same so as to prevent contamination thereof by extraneous matter.

The bulk transportation of finely divided lading, such as flour and the like, in covered hopper type railway cars is becoming of increasing importance. This means of transportation is economical since it does not require that the lading be packaged and it permits. it to be loaded and unloaded entirely by mechanical handling equipment. In such transportation care is taken to insure that the lading is not contaminated by extraneous material. The present invention has to do particularly with the controlof the surfaces of the hopper outlet which contact the lading and the prevention of the contamination thereof.

Among the objects of this invention are: To avoid contamination of the slidable gate of an outlet assembly of a railway car hopper; to enclose the gate in either its closed or open position; to limit the opening movement thereof; to provide for exposing the enclosed gate in its open position to permit cleaning thereof; to provide for completely removing the gate; to hold the gate temporarily in position when the usual support therefor is removed; and to seal the gate operating shaft against ingress of extraneous material.

Other objects of this invention will, in part, be obvious and in part appear hereinafter.

This invention is disclosed in the embodiment thereof shown in the accompanying drawings and it comprises the features of construction, combination of elements, and

For a more complete understanding of the nature andscope of this invention, reference can be had to the following detaileddescription, taken together with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a top plan view of a hopper outlet assembly constructed in accordance with this invention;

Figure 2 is a view, in side elevation, of the hopper outlet assembly shown in Figure 1 as applied to a conventional type of railway car hopper;

Figure 3 is a view, in end elevation, of the shroud portion of the outlet assembly shown in Figure 2; I i

Figure 4 is a detail sectional view taken generally along the line 44 of Figure 2; and i v i V Figure 5 is a view which shows the manner in which the lower shroud member can be swung downwardly to permit the removal of the gate for cleaning purposes.

Referring now particularly to Figure 2 of the drawings it will be observed that the reference character desig nates, generally, a hopper of a conventional type of railway car which is formed by outer and inner sidewalls 11 and 12 and end walls 13 and 14. The inner side wall 12 may extend vertically while the otherwalls 11, 13, and

14 may be inclined inwardly for the purposeof directing the flow of lading outwardly through agenerally rectangle I lar frame which is shown, generally, at 15.; As shown 2,751,859 Patented June 25, 1956,

The walls 17, 18, and 19 of the frame 15 have an,

upwardly facing ledge 25, Figure 2, formed integrally therewith for supporting a gate 26 which is slidable hOIlzontally to close the opening through the frame. Below the slidable gate 26 is a chute portion, shown generally at 27, along the two sides of which grooved flanges 2.8

and 29 are provided and along the two other sides of which flat outwardly extending flanges 30 and 31 are formed. These flanges are provided for the purpose of facilitating the application of a removable chute (not shown) which directs the discharge of lading from the chute portion 27 to the desired location as will be under.

stood readily.

In order to protect the underside of the gate 26 in theclosed position from being subjected to extraneous material, a removable cover plate 32 is employed and 1s arranged to interfit in the grooved flanges 28 and 29. The

cover plate 32 is held in position by a cam 33 carried by a transversely extending shaft 34 which is journaled in depending ears 35 from opposite sides of the chute,

portion 27.

With a view to moving the gate 26 horizontally, it is provided on its underside with rack teeth 38, Figure 2, for

cooperation with pinions one of which is indicated at 39.

in Figure 4. The pinions 39 are carried by a square shaft 40 and are secured thereto against endwise movement by rivets 41 which extends through hubs formed integrally with the pinions 39. The shaft 46 can be rotated by a handle or operating head 42. It will be understood that,

when. the shaft 40 is rotated, the gate 26 is caused toslide in one direction or the other depending upon its direction of rotation of the shaft 40.

Any suitable means can be provided for locking the gate 26 in the closed position. As shown in Figures 2 and 40f the drawings, the handle or operating head-42 is provided with a radially extending boss 43-with which- The dog 44 is pivoted a dog 44 is arranged to cooperate. at 45 and isarranged to be held in locked position by a locking dog 46 which is pivoted at 47. that the dog 44 and locking dog 46 are pivotally mounted on a side wall 48 of the frame 15, this side wall extending therefrom in the direction of opening movement ofthe gate 26.

It is desirable to prevent ingress of extraneous material past the shaft 40 Where it projects through the side wall 48. For this purpose a sleeve 49, Figure 4, is formed integrally with the side wall 48 and projects outwardly, therefrom. Theinner end 50 of the handle or operating, head 42 is rotatably mounted withing the sleeve 49 which forms a bearing for the shaft 40. A radial flange. 51

extends from the handle or operating head 42 and is coextensive with the outer end of the sleeve. 49. In order to provide a sealed connection between the handle or operating head 42 and the sleeve 4-9, anannulargasket 52 is inserted between theouter end of the sleeve 49 and theinuer side of the radial flange 51. The handle or operating head 42 is held tightly against the gasket52 and atransverse rivet 53 is inserted through the-shaft 40 to hold the assembly in positionunder some tension.

With aview to supporting thesliding gate 26 whenit,

is moved to the open position, relativelyshort tracks56 in the form of angles are secured to the inner sides of the side walls 48 by means of rivets 57. The surface ofthe tracks 56 is coplanar withthe surface of the,upwardly fac- It will be observed ing ledge 25 so that the gate 26 can slide readily from the one to the other. 1

For the reasons indicatedhereinbefore, it is desirable to completely enclose the sliding gate 26 at all times so as to prevent its being contaminated by extraneous material. For this purpose a shroud, shown generally at 53 in Figure 2, is provided- It includes an upper shroud member 59 formed of suitable sheet metal and welded at its forward end as indicated at69 to the upper edge of the end wall 20. The upper shroud member 59 is welded at its other end as indicated at 61 to a transverse angle 62 which is carried by support angles 63 which depend from the underside of the car superstructure. Flanges 64 extending outwardly from the sides of the upper shroud member 59 definethe edges thereof and they are arranged to overlie similarly outstanding flanges 65 which define the upper edges of a lower shroud member 66. it is desirable that the lower shroud member 66 be removable from the upper shroud member 59 so that the gate 26 can be completely removed for cleaning purposes. in order to accomplish this, the lower shroud member 66 is hinged to the underside of the frame 15 by means of removable pins 67. A gasket 68 is interposed between the flanges 64 and 65 so as to provide a sealed connection therebetween when the lower shroud member 66 is in the closed position shown in Figure 2.

a In order to support the gate 26 in the fully opened position, tracks 69 are provided which constitute continuations of the tracks 56. The tracks 69 are in the form of angles and are carried by the lower shroud member 66 and are swingable therewith.

In order to limit the outward movement of the gate 26, a stop in the form of a transverse angle 69 is mounted on the tracks 69 and is movable therewith. As shown in Figure 2, the stop 69 limits the outward movement of the gate 26 so as to prevent its being moved to a position where the pinions 39 would be out of engagement with the rack teeth 38.

With a view to holding the lower shroud member 66 in operative position with respect to the upper shroud member 59, a pair of latch hooks 70 is provided. The latch hooks 70 are fast on a shaft 71 which has end hearing portions 72 that project through the flanges 73 of the support angle 63. A handle 74 extends radially from the shaft 71 for rocking the same to move the latch hooks 70 into and out of operative position. As shown in Figure 5, one of the latch hooks 70 can be provided with a slot 75 through which a sealing pin 76, Figure 2, can be 1nserted through a slot 77 in the flange 73. This construction serves to hold the latch hooks 70 in sealed position.

When lading is to be discharged from the hopper 10, the cover plate 32 first is removed and then the detachable chute is connected to the chute portion 27. Next the locking dog 46 is swung out of the path of the dog 44 and the latter is moved to a position where it clears the boss 43. Then the handle or operating head 42 is rotated by the insertion of an operating bar in a clockwise direct on, as viewed in Figure 2, to move the gate 26 to the right to the position shown by the broken lines against the stop 69'. This permits the lading to be discharged from the hopper 10.

When it is desired to clean the gate 76 is removed and the handle 74 is swung toward the hopper 10 so as to swing the latch hooks 70 out of locking position with respect to the lower shroud member 66. It then is permitted to swing toward the position shown in Figure of the drawings. Since the gate 26 no longer is supported by the tracks 69 carried by the lower shroud member 66, the gate 26 tilts to the position shown by the full lines in Figure 5. It is temporarily held in this position since the underside engages the outer ends of the 26, the sealing pin the lower shroud member 66-is swung to the open position but also the inside of the upper and lower shroud members 59 and 66 likewise can be cleaned. The gate 26 is reinserted to the frame 15 by reversing the steps just outlined. in order to permit the return of the lower shroud member 66 to its operating position as shown in Figure 2, it is necessary that the gate 26 be moved toward the closed position sufficiently far so'that the rack teeth 38 engage the teeth of the pinions 39. It is necessary to do this so that its-outer end will clear the stop 69 when the lower shroud member 66 is swung to the closed position. 7

Since certain changes can be made in the foregoing construction and different embodiments of the invention can be made without departing from the spirit and scope thereof, it is intended that all matters shown in the accompanying drawings and described hereinbefore shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

What is claimed as new is:

1. An outlet assembly for a railway car hopper comprising, in combination, a frame adapted to be secured around the hopper opening, a gate carried by said frame and slidable thereon horizontally from a position within said frame where it closes off said opening to a position without said frame where it permits the discharge of lading from said hopper, upper and lower shroud means positioned at one end of said frame for receiving said gate in its open position and enclosing it to prevent contamination by extraneous matter, said upper shroud means being fixed to said frame, said lower shroud means being hinged to said frame at said end thereof whereby it can be swung down ardly to permit removal of said gate from said frame for cleaning purposes, latching means carried by said frame for holding said lower shroud means in closed position, and track means carried by said lower shroud means for supporting said gate when the same is moved to its open position, said track means being swingable with said lower shroud means. v

2. An outlet assembly for a railway car hopper comprising, in combination, a frame adapted to be secured around the hopper opening, a gate carried by said frame and slidable thereon horizontally from a position within said frame where it closes off said opening to a position without said frame where it permits the discharge of lading from said hopper, upper and lower shroud means positioned at one end of said frame for receiving said gate in its open position and enclosing it to prevent contamination by extraneous matter, said upper shroud means being fixed to said frame, said lower shroud means being hinged to said frame at said end thereof whereby it can be swung downwardly to permit removal of said gate from said frame for cleaning purposes, latching means carried by said frame for holding said lower shroud means in closed 5 position, track means carried by said lower shroud means ment thereof in the opening direction.

tracks 56, while the upper surface engages inwardly extending stops 78 from the side walls 48. The gate 26 then can be bodily withdrawn as indicated by the broken lines.

in Figure 5.

"Not only can the gate 26'be throughly cleaned when 3. An outlet assembly for a railway car hopper comprising, in combination, a frame adapted to be secured around the hopper opening, a gate carried by said frame and slidable thereon horizontally from a position within said frame where it closes off said opening to a position without said frame where it permits the discharge of lading from said hopper, upper and lower shroud means positioned at one end of said frame for receiving said gate in its open position and enclosing it to prevent contamination by extraneous matter, said upper shroud means being fixed to said frame, said lower shroud means being hinged to said frame at said end thereof whereby it can be swung downwardly to permit removal of said gate from said frame for cleaning purposes, latching means carried by said-frame for holding said lower shroud means in closed position, track means extending from said frame for supporting "said gate 'when'it is moved to open position, a

able with said lower shroud means and the remaining portion being fixed to said frame, and stop means carried by said frame above said gate for cooperating therewith when it is in open position and overhanging said remaining portion of said track means when said lower shroud means is open to hold said gate temporarily against further movement.

4. An outlet assembly for a railway car hopper comprising, in combination, a frame adapted to be secured around the hopper opening and having a depending chute portion for directing the discharge of lading therefrom, a gate carried by said frame and slidable thereon horizontally from a position within said frame where it closes off said opening to a position without said frame where it permits the discharge of lading from said hopper, upper and lower shroud means positioned at one end of said frame for receiving said gate in its open position and enclosing it to prevent contamination by extraneous matter, said upper shroud means being fixed to said frame, said lower shroud means being hinged to said frame at said end thereof whereby it can be swung downwardly to permit removal of said gate from said frame for cleaning purposes, latching means carried by said frame for holding said lower shroud means in closed position, track means extending from said frame for supporting said gate when it is moved to open position, a portion of said track means being carried by and swingable with said lower shroud means and the remaining portion being fixed to said frame, stop means carried by said frame above said gate for cooperating therewith when it is in open position and overhanging said remaining portion of said track means when said lower shroud means is open to hold said gate temporarily against further movement, removable closure means carried by said chute portion of said frame to prevent contamination of the underside of said gate by extraneous matter when it is in closed position; and means for moving said gate between open and closed positions including a rotatable shaft extending transversely of said frame and through the side walls thereof, pinion means fast on said shaft, rack means on the underside of said gate cooperating with said pinion means, and sealing means for said shaft where the same projects beyond said frame for preventing ingress of extraneous matter into said shroud means and frame.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 669,876 Critchlow Mar. 12, 1901 1,115,365 Wright Oct. 27, 1914 1,316,713 Guay Sept. 23, 1919 1,659,065 Weigand Feb. 14, 1928 2,142,236 Campbell Jan. 3, 1939 2,222,280 Batho Nov. 19, 1940 

